Coalition Joins 550 Organizations to Seek Stronger Funding for Health and Human Services Programs

April 1, 2019

The 550 undersigned organizations—representing the full range of stakeholders supporting the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill (Labor-HHS)—urge you to significantly boost the fiscal year (FY) 2020 allocation for that Subcommittee to address vital and long-neglected needs. The programs and services funded by the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee have a profound impact on health and well-being, child development, educational and skills attainment, and productivity, yet they have been overlooked in the appropriations process over the last decade. Even in years when non-defense discretionary funding increased, the Subcommittee’s allocation remained flat or received only a small share of the increase. Most recently, for FY 2019 the bill received just a 0.6 percent increase in funding even though overall non-defense discretionary funding increased by 3 percent, shortchanging important services and activities by billions of dollars.

To provide workable allocations for the FY 2020 appropriations bills, Congress will need to raise the cap on non-defense discretionary spending substantially above the FY 2019 level, both to support ongoing services across the government and to accommodate the increased cost of the decennial census and the VA Choice program. We urge you to take that opportunity to address the long-standing needs of the Labor-HHS-Education bill, whose programs strengthen the nation by improving Americans’ lives and meeting basic needs for a broad range of constituencies. The bill has lost almost $16 billion in purchasing power over the last decade; it would take an allocation of $194 billion just to return to the FY 2010 level in inflation-adjusted dollars.

The effects of chronic underfunding for the Labor-HHS-Education bill has impacted programs that support education, public health, health research, job training, and social services. The effects include:

• Serving 1.5 million fewer low-income people through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in 2018 than in 2010, despite growing need, because funding was reduced from $5.1 billion to $3.7 billion over this period.
• Eroding the public health infrastructure and workforce, limiting our ability to respond to public health crises and monitor health trends for new and emerging threats.
• Hindering efforts to raise overall student achievement, close troubling achievement gaps, and increase high school graduation rates, college affordability, and college completion.
• Leaving far too many low-income children without access to high quality preschool and other early learning opportunities.
• Hindering efforts of our local employers to fill the approximately six million open jobs in the U.S. because too many workers lack the necessary postsecondary education and credentials to fill these positions.
• Preventing almost one million citizens from accessing the critical workforce and job training services that Congress overwhelmingly authorized in 2014.
• Ignoring the needs of individuals who find themselves without a high school credential and who need a pathway back to education, employment and active citizenship.

Without a substantial increase in the Subcommittee’s allocation, it will be virtually impossible to meaningfully expand investments in important initiatives—such as public health emergency preparedness and infectious disease surveillance, implementing the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, continuing to improve college affordability and completion, or achieving the intended innovation of the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA)—without deep cuts in other equally important initiatives.

We urge you to commit to improving the lives of Americans by significantly raising the cap on nondefense discretionary spending above the FY 2019 level and then boosting the allocation for the LaborHHS-Education bill for FY 2020 to support needed services to the American public.

If you have questions about this letter, please contact:

• Sheryl Cohen, Committee for Education Funding (cohen@cef.org)
• Emily Holubowich, Coalition for Health Funding (eholubowich@dc-crd.com);
• Katie Spiker, Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce (KatieS@nationalskillscoalition.org); or
• Debbie Weinstein, Coalition on Human Needs (dweinstein@chn.org)

Sincerely,

AASA, The School Superintendents Association
Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
AcademyHealth
ACT for NIH Foundation
Action, Inc.
Addiction Connections Resource
Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Adrian Rea Adult Literacy Center
Advance CTE
AFL-CIO
African American Health Alliance
AFSCME
Afterschool Alliance
Agape Missions, NFP
AIDS Alabama South
AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families
AIDS United
Alaska Literacy Program, Inc.
Alliance for Excellent Education
Alliance for Refugee and Immigrant Education of WNY (AIRE-WNY)
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Alliance of Museums
American Association for Dental Research
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Association on Health and Disability
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Physicians
American College of Preventive Medicine
American College of Rheumatology
American Council on Education
American Counseling Association
American Dance Therapy Association
American Dental Education Association
American Diabetes Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Heart Association
American Library Association
American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association
American Medical Women’s Association
American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR)
American Nurses Association
American Organization of Nurse Executives
American Physiological Society
American Podiatric Medical Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American School Counselor Association
American School Health Association
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
American Society for Investigative Pathology
American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
American Thoracic Society
Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Appalachian Conservation Corps- Conservation Legacy
Arise For Social Justice
Arizona Conservation Corps
Arizona School Administrators
Arkansas Community Organizations
Arthritis Foundation
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association for Career and Technical Education
Association for Clinical and Translational Science
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Association of Educational Service Agencies
Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools
Association of Population Centers
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO)
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Augustus F. Hawkins Foundation
Authors & Editors 2Learn-English
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
AYE of Catholic Charities of LA
Battle of Homestead Foundation
Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative
Big Cities Health Coalition
Biophysical Society
Bogota Public Library
Brotherly Love Church of God in Christ
Buckeye Association of School Administrators
Butler Community College Adult Education
California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals
California Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
CARECEN-Central American Resource Center
Casa Major, Inc.
CAST
Catholic Charities of Chemung/Schuyler counties, NY
Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY
Center for Latino Progress – CPRF
Center for Public Representation
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Charleston Branch NAACP
Chester County Food Bank
Child Care Aware of WA
Child Care Services Association
Children’s Advocacy Institute
Children’s Defense Fund
Children’s Hospital Association
Children’s Mental Health Network
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Citizens Action Coalition of IN
Clinical Research Forum
Coalition Against Hunger
Coalition for Clinical and Translational Science
Coalition for Health Funding
Coalition for the Life Sciences
Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations
Coalition on Human Needs
Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Colorado Association of School Executives
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc. (COA)
Committee for Children
Committee for Education Funding (CEF)
Community Action of Ventura County
Confederation of Oregon School Administrators
Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf
Conscious Talk Radio
Conservation Legacy
Cooley’s Anemia Foundation
COPD Foundation
Council for Exceptional Children
Council for Opportunity in Education
Council of Administrators of Special Education
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Council of the Great City Schools
Council on Social Work Education
Council on Undergraduate Research
Court Watch Montgomery, Inc.
Crawford County Adult Education Center
Cure HHT
Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
Delta Theta Chi Sorority/Sigma
Democrats for Education Reform
Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Digestive Disease National Coalition
Disability Rights Nebraska
Disabled in Action of Greater Syracuse Inc.
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC)
Doctors for America
Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids
Dystonia Advocacy Network
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
East Central College AEL
Easterseals
Ecumenical Poverty Initiative
EDGE Consulting LLC
Education Reform Now Advocacy
Ehrens Consulting
Employment & Employer Services
Employment & Training Designs, Inc.
Empower Missouri
Endocrine Society
Englewood Community Connection Outreach corp
Epilepsy Foundation
Faces and Voices of Recovery
Family & Children Center
Family Voices
FavorHouse of Northwest Florida, Inc.
Federal Lands Impacted Schools Association
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences
First Five Years Fund
First World Architects Studio
Florida State University
Foundation for Healthy Generations
Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, US Area
Friends of AHRQ
Friends of NBCDDD
Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB)
GBS|CIDP Foundation International
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
Great Basin Institute
Greater Memphis Workforce Development Board
Greater New York Labor Religion Coalition
Hawai‘i Association for College Admission Counseling
Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition
Healthy Teen Network
HEAR US, Inc.
Heartland Alliance
Hemophilia Alliance
Hepatitis B Foundation
Higher Education Consortium for Special Education
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
HIV Medicine Association
Holstein Consulting
Housing Resource Network
Howard Brown Health
Hunger Free America
IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA)
Illinois Action for Children
Illinois Association for Behavioral Health
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling
Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Illinois-Iowa Center for Independent Living
Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health
Immunize Nevada
Indiana Association of College Admissions Counseling
Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents
Infectious Diseases Society of America
INSPIRATIONAL GOSPEL ASSEMBLY
International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders
Interstitial Cystitis Association
Iowa ACAC
Islesboro Affordable Property
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo
Jefferson Economic Development Institute
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
JFF
Justice in Aging
Kansas School Superintendents Association
Kansas Workforce ONE
Kentucky Association for College Admission Counseling
Knowledge Alliance
L and C Ministries
Lafayette Urban Ministry
Lakeshore Foundation
Lakeview Pantry
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Literacy Council
Literacy Council of Bowie & Miller Co., Inc.
Literacy Council of Buncombe County
Literacy Council of Sheboygan County
Literacy Council of Tyler
Literacy Delaware
Literacy New Jersey
Literacy Volunteers – HBPL
Literacy Volunteers of America – Monroe County, Inc.
Literacy Volunteers of Leon County
Literacy Volunteers of Upshur County
Lorain County Health & Dentistry
Lung Cancer Alliance
LVA, Essex & Passaic Counties
Lymphatic Education & Research Network
Magnet Schools of America
Maple Valley Food Bank and Emergency Services
March of Dimes
Marinette & Oconto Counties Literacy Council
Mariposa County Library
Maryland Center on Economic Policy
Maryland National Organization for Women
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Meals on Wheels America
Medical Library Association
Mental Health America
METAvivor Research & Support
Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling
Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
Mid to Low LOT Schools
Mid-East Career & Technology Centers
Mile High Youth Corps
Minnesota Association of College Admissions Counselors MACAC
Minnesota Association of School Administrators
Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling
MomsRising
Montana Association of School Superintendents
Montana Conservation Corps
Montana Organizing Project
Montgomery County Community Action Development Commission
Mountainland Aging & Family Services
MYCAP
NAACP
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals
NASTAD
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National AHEC Organization
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE)
National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
National Alopecia Areata Foundation
National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association for Music Education
National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS)
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Federally Impacted Schools
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of Regional Councils
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)
National Association of Workforce Boards
National Association of Workforce Development Professionals
National Birth Defects Prevention Network
National Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network
National Blood Clot Alliance
National Center for Families Learning
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Council for Behavioral Health
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
National Council for Diversity in the Health Professions
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis
National Council of State Directors of Adult Education
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
National Council on Aging
National Disability Institute
National Domestic Violence Hotline
National Education Association
National Education Association Retirees Organization (NEARO)
National Employment Law Project
National Energy & Utility Affordability Coalition
National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Hemophilia Foundation
National Indian Impacted Schools Association
National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ)
National League for Nursing
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Network for Youth
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Pancreas Foundation
National PTA
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
National Respite Coalition
National Rural Education Advocacy Consortium
National Rural Education Association
National School Boards Association
National Skills Coalition
National Superintendents Roundtable
National Urban League
National Women’s Health Network
National Women’s Law Center
National Working Positive Coalition
National Writing Project
National Youth Employment Coalition
NBCC
NCC-Adult Learning Center
NCJW Columbus
NephCure Kidney International
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New England Association of College Admissions Counselors
New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling
New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc.
New Jersey Association on Correction
New York State Association of College Admission Counseling
New York State Council of School Superintendents
NJACAC
NMAC
North American Primary Care Research Group
Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps
Northern Nevada Literacy Council
NY Association for the Education of Young Children
Oakland Literacy Council
Ohio Association of College Admission Counseling
Oklahoma Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
Parable of the Shower Intentional Community Cooperative
Parent Teacher Club of Toyon Middle School, Calaveras County, CA
Parents as Teachers
PathWays PA
PCCEO
PCCEO Head Start
Peacehome Campaigns
PeacexPeace Ministry St. John Fisher Chapel
Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
People Incorporated of Virginia
Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity, Inc.
Physician Assistant Education Association
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign
Population Association of America
Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling
Power to Decide
PowerNotes, LLC
Prevent Blindness
Prevention Institute
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Project Sleep
ProLiteracy
Protect All Children’s Environment
Provincial Council Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians)
Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN)
Public Advocacy for Kids
Public Health Institute
Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
PWN-GREATER Houston
Rebuild America’s Schools
Refuge Ministries of Tampa Bay International
Research!America
Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation
Restore Education
RESULTS DC
Results for America
RESULTS Raleigh
Ritenour Adult Education and Literacy
RiverStone Health
Rocky Mountain Association for College Admissions Counseling
Rural AIDS Action Network
Safe States Alliance
San Bernardino Public Library – Lifelong Learning Center
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center
Santa Monica Public Library Literacy Education for Adults & Families (LEAF)
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Scholastic, Inc.
School Administrators of Iowa
School of Medicine Virginia Commonwealth University
School Social Work Association of America
School Superintendents of Alabama
School-Based Health Alliance
Scleroderma Foundation
Service Employees International Union
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sisters of Charity Federation
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Leadership
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team
Sleep Research Society
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Public Health Education
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
South King County Food Coalition
Southeast Conservation Corps
Southern Association for College Admission Counseling
Southwest Conservation Corps
Sowing Resilience Communities.
Spina Bifida Association
Stanford University
STEP, Inc.
Stewards Individual Placement Program
Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service
Student Aid Alliance
Suffolk, VA Literacy Council
Tacoma Area Literacy Council
TASH
Teach For America
Teach Plus
Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU)
Teratology Society
Texas Association for College Admissions Counseling
Texas Association of School Administrators
The Advocacy Institute
The AIDS Institute
The American Brain Coalition
The Arc of the United States
The Corps Network
The Literacy Council of Manatee County
The Literacy Council-Literacy Volunteer
The Marfan Foundation
The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Tourette Association of America
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Trident Literacy Association
Trisomy 18 Foundation
TrueNorth Community Services
Trust for America’s Health
Tu Casa Latina
Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
UC San Diego Health Sciences
UNCF
Union for Reform Judaism
United School Administrators of Kansas
United States Breastfeeding Committee
United States Christian Chambers of Commerce
United Way Worldwide
University of Florida Health
U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association
Vaccinate Your Family
Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition
Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
Voices for Progress
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Walworth County Literacy Council
Washington Association of School Administrators
Washington State Public Health Association
We Are Family Senior Outreach Network
WEST Adult Basic Education
West Piedmont Workforce Development Board
West Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council
West Virginians for Affordable Health Care
West Virginians Together for Medicaid
Western Arkansas Planning and Development District, Inc.
Western Association for College Admission Counseling
Wisconsin Association for College Admission Counseling
Witness to Mass Incarceration
Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture
Women’s Rights Information Center
YMCA of the USA
Young Invincibles
YWCA Tri-County Area
ZERO TO THREE

Cc: Chairs and Ranking Members, House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations
Subcommittees